Protecting the rights and dignity of office workers and college students suffering from autoimmune disorders, immunodeficiency viruses, and other immune system related illnesses.
Our thesis is simple: no student or worker deserves to lose everything because of an illness. They have already lost their health.
People suffering from autoimmune and other chronic illnesses suffer in the workplace and at school due to ignorance, stigma, and a refusal to listen.
Challenges commonly faced by workers living with immune system disorders include:
Lack of understanding from management about the unique needs of their sick workers.
Needing accommodations like flexible schedules to deal with medical emergencies or working from home to manage symptoms.
Misunderstanding and outright cruelty from corporations, leaving them vulnerable to fatal illnesses.
Lack of adequate employer health insurance for those with autoimmune disorders.
Recent crackdowns on working from home severely damage the health and safety of all disabled workers, especially those with immune system diseases.
One of the biggest challenges faced by those with autoimmune disorders is the need to work from home. Workers with these conditions often need to do this to achieve even a bare minimum amount of safety. Some employers would rather risk their employees lives, leaving workers struggling to stay healthy.
1. We need laws like the Employee Autoimmune Disorder Protection Act to protect sick workers from being forced to work in offices. Corporate executives who knowingly endanger the lives of employees with autoimmune diseases should face harsh penalties. Some exceptions will apply to certain industries like restaurants, retail, and construction.
2. We need an awareness campaign to inform corporations and schools of the legal rights of workers with autoimmune and other immune system diseases and hold them accountable for violating them.
3. We need to protect students on campus with increased financial support, more access to accommodations, and more support groups to prevent them from becoming socially isolated. Why? Because no student deserves to have to drop out of school — or get a lower grade on their assignments — due to an illness.
